Sean Collier, Slain Officer: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Boston mourns yet another tragedy after Officer Sean Collier became the fourth fatal victim of the Boston Marathon bombers.

Collier, an officer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was found shot to death late Thursday in his vehicle on the campus in Cambridge. He was responding to a reported disturbance when it is believed the Boston Bombing suspects brutally executed him.

The Somerville, Massachusetts, native, described by his loved ones as a “a dedicated officer” with “a heart of gold,” will forever be remembered as another innocent victim of the terror wave that ravaged Boston this week. Here’s what you should know.

1. He Died of Multiple Gunshot Wounds

Photo via Scott McLellan

Collier encountered the bomb suspects just hours after their surveillance photos had been released by the FBI. The suspects allegedly shot him several times, including shots to the head, while he sat in his vehicle. Collier was rushed to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The suspects then carjacked a Mercedes and fled to neighboring Watertown while tossing homemade bombs out the window to foil cops’ pursuit. In a wild, bomb-blasting shootout in Watertown, one suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, died and another cop, transit officer Richard Donahue, suffered serious wounds. In a sad coincidence, Collier and Donahue were good friends from their academy days.

The Westboro Baptist Church, the hate group known for picketing the funerals of fallen soldiers and victims of tragedy, tweeted that it will be doing the same during Sean Collier’s service. The 40-odd members of this twisted sect promote their anti-Gay ideology by preying on the wounds of high-profile deaths, and the bigger the tragedy the better for them.